Body Measurements — Na Ana o Hawai‘i

One of the core parts of nature journaling is numbers. But how can you measure the size of things if you don’t have a measuring tape? Use your body as reference! In Hawai’i, this type of measuring units were called na ana or na anakahi.

You can teach these types of measurements to your class and then use them in your next journal page — instead of numbers, just record or estimate sizes using your body, for example, this flower is

Song to remember nā ana o Hawai‘i

Lesson plan on na anakihi from UH Manoa

Garden-based lesson plan to practice using body measurements

Worksheet from Kamehameha Schools (From their lesson resource website)

Another fun project is to use body measurements to make a life-sized chalk drawing of a humpback whale and her calf.

1. Visually compare the size of an average adult to an adult whale, and an adult whale to the size of a baby whale
   1. Diver Encounters Humpback Whales In Ocean
   2. Mother and calf: https://www.fromhereonin.com/mother-and-baby-humpback-whales/ 
2. Research the average length of an adult whale and a baby whale
   1. How big is a whale: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/humpback-whale-fact-sheet/ 
   2. Humpback whales weigh up to about 40 tons and can reach up to 60 feet in length. Their flukes can be up to 18 feet in width.
   3. https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/marine-mammals/what-largest-whale-cetacea-size-comparison-chart Humpback: 42-50 Ft
3. In the classroom, pair up students and use a yardstick or measuring tape to measure their anana — measured from the tips of their longest fingers with their arms outstretched.
4. Calculate how many students standing with their arms outstretched equal the length of an adult whale and a baby whale.
5. Students practice drawing a humpback whale in the classroom
   • Reference image and research: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/humpback-whale/overview
   • Whale fluke: https://www.oceanicsociety.org/resources/whale-fluke-identification-guide/
   • Talk about the basic shapes that they see, and the proportions
6. Have them label the parts of the whale, and include notes, observations, and questions they might have — and now you have a nature journal page!
7. Chalk outdoors: Full size whale drawing
   1. Have students stand with their arms outstretched holding hands
   2. Teacher marks the front of the head and the end of the tail
   3. Assign students to draw their part of the whale
8. Ideas of some other large marine mammals found in Hawaii that you could also use:
   • Monk seal
   • Tiger shark
   • Whale shark (not a true shark!)
   • Dolphins

Intro video about humpback whales: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glxULceEEjA